Water elevation · USGS gauge 12371550 · updated August 29, 2026
Water elevation
2892.96ft
feet above sea level
Gauge 12371550, Flathead Lake at Polson MT, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. The value above is the most recent reading on file with its own timestamp. When the gauge answers, it is replaced by the current one — no estimate is ever shown in place of a missing reading.
What this number is
Water elevation is the height of the lake surface above sea level, as surveyed at Flathead Lake at Polson MT. It is the number reservoir operators publish, and it is comparable from one reading to the next at this lake. It is not the depth of the water.
- Measured as
- Water elevation, ft above sea level
- Most recent reading on file
- 2892.96 ft · August 29, 2026
- Water quality
- Readings on the lake page
No target level is shown here. Saying a lake is high or low needs a conservation pool or a seasonal rule curve to measure against, and the gauge reading alone does not carry one. The station page above holds the full record, including the last several days, which is what a single reading has to be read against.
Water quality at Flathead Lake
Flathead Lake has limited nutrient and algae sampling on record. A lake without recent nutrient or algae sampling shows whatever measurements exist rather than an estimate.
The gauge measures how much water is in the lake. The nutrient and algae readings measure what is in the water. A rise or a drawdown does not change those readings until the lake is sampled again.
Common questions
What is the water level at Flathead Lake right now?
The most recent reading from the USGS gauge at Flathead Lake at Polson MT is a water elevation of 2892.96 ft, taken on August 29, 2026. This page reloads that gauge every time it is opened, so the number above is the current one whenever the station is reporting. USGS lake gauges typically post a new value every 15 to 60 minutes.
What does water elevation mean?
Water elevation is the height of the lake surface above sea level, as surveyed at Flathead Lake at Polson MT. It is the number reservoir operators publish, and it is comparable from one reading to the next at this lake. It is not the depth of the water.
Is Flathead Lake low?
That question needs a target pool level to answer, and the gauge reading alone does not supply one. Reservoir operators publish a conservation pool or a seasonal rule curve for the lakes they manage, and the USGS station page for gauge 12371550 carries the full record this reading came from, including the past several days. Comparing today against that record is the honest version of "low" — a single number is not.
Does the water level affect water quality at Flathead Lake?
Flathead Lake has limited nutrient and algae sampling on record. Each lake's nutrient and algae readings — total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity — are shown beside the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 condition class for that lake's own ecoregion, so a reading is compared against the lakes it would naturally resemble. LakeQuality publishes no letter grade. None of that comes from the gauge. A drawdown can concentrate nutrients and a heavy inflow can dilute them, but neither shows up in the readings until the water is sampled again. Treat the two numbers as separate measurements of the same lake.
Where these numbers come from
The level and temperature are U.S. Geological Survey instantaneous values from gauge 12371550, a public feed with no licence restriction. The water-quality readings come from EPA Water Quality Portal samples submitted by North American Lake Management Society. For advisories and standards in Montana, Montana DEQ is the authority — a gauge reading is neither.